SAO: SOSouls
by Haelafly
Summary: "Your condition has gotten worse, we will continue treatment but we have reason to believe that it will most certainly kill you. We estimate that you have only one year, I'm sorry." Once Yuri logs into Sao for its first launch, she finds that there is no escape from the virtual world, and with an illness killing her IRL, she becomes weaker...
1. Prolog

"Link Start!"

-Connecting- Sight: Connected

Touch: Connected Smell: Connected

Taste: Connected Hearing: Connected

-SYSTEM ERROR-

"Your condition has gotten worse, we will continue treatment but we have reason to believe that it will most certainly kill you. We estimate that you have only one year, I'm sorry."

In the year of 2022, a game called Sword Art Online is released. Using a helmet that simulates a person's five senses called a NerveGear, a player is able to control their avatar first hand, using their brain.

Such technology holds a lot of value to a 15 year old girl by the name of Yuri Endo. While people might just be playing the game for the experience and fun that comes with it, Yuri plays for the chance to do things that she is unable too. At a young age, doctors found an issue with her lungs and immune system, they referred to this condition as terminal illness. Leaving her clinging to life with such a high chance of death, her parents start looking with urgency for a way to help her.

However once Yuri logs into Sao for its first launch, she finds that there is no escape from the virtual world, and with the illness killing her IRL, she becomes weaker. Her only desire goes from being cured, to saying goodbye to her family.

**Can Yuri beat the game before time beats her to the bitter end? **

**Disclaimer****: I do ****NOT**** own Sword Art Online, all credit for the anime itself goes to the original creators. This is simply a fanfiction; a figment of my imagination.**

Sympathetic viewing is appreciated.

_On with the story!_


	2. Chapter One

A projector that hangs on a soft blue wall comes to life, it's bright glow casting light into the dark room. A girl sits in a heap of blankets, her head between her knees. Sweat drenches her small form and she shivers in response to the cold air attacking her pale skin. A small beeping sound catches her attention and she brushes her hair out of her sapphire colored eyes to look up at an image projection in the air above her head. It's the start of November 4th, 2022. The time is 6:45 and the weather is slightly cloudy, but warm. She lifts her hand into the air, touching the dismiss option on the sensitive glowing light. The projection disappears, leaving the room dark again. She collapses back onto the mattress below her, covering her eyes with her arms. She is so tired, having woken up three hours before her alarm with fits of coughs and night sweats. She is going to have to run off of two hours of sleep today.

Today she has therapy. Apparently, when one is diagnosed with a life threatening disease, they also develop depression and anxiety. This is one of the many things which she wishes would disappear just as quickly as it came.

After laying there for a few more minutes she decides to get up and removes the silicone respirator from her face. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she throws back the sheets. Her milky pale legs take a moment to steady her, but she is soon walking to a small closet that houses all of her clothing. She takes out a fresh pair of socks, buttons up a white shirt and tucks it into a dark blue skirt. She then pulls the grey socks up her shins and slips her small feet into two black shoes.

The girl draws a heavy, murky breath through her dry mouth before feeling claustrophobic. It was almost as if the oxygen around her was closing in, suffocating, drowning her already shriveled lungs in its dense existence. She forces the window open to escape her perturbation before tying up her waist length brown hair, grabbing a bag of essentials, and exiting the room.

Voices ring out from the kitchen, her family. When she walks in her mother greets her with a smile, and she takes notice of her younger brothers who violently kick each other from under the table, her father oblivious to it. She takes her seat at the table to join her family for breakfast. By the time she is finished eating it is 7:50. Time to get a move on, she assumes. Downing the handful of pills which sat waiting for her by a glass of water, she grabs a clean medical mask from out of the box by the counter and places it over her agitated airways. Finally, throwing her small pink bag over her shoulders, she walks out the door.

Colored leaves dot the sidewalks leading up to the train station, and students heading to school talk mindlessly. She keeps her head low, walking without a hint of confidence. She missed school. The collapse of her body back in junior high was the end of it all. The end of normalcy, and the start of a nightmare.

Now she mostly schooled online, her parents and doctors not allowing her to go to school, afraid of the bullying that may ensue, or too much physical exertion. She was like a glass figurine, a precious and fragile object. She was allowed only to do menial work at home, and anywhere else really. Walking to her therapy appointments every Tuesday and Friday was the most she was granted, and even that took a lot of persuasion.

She pulls a book from her bag, immersing herself in it almost entirely. Shortly after being diagnosed the development of anxiety drove her away from reality and into the world of books. Books had been her only distraction when she was younger, a way to pretend that the needles they stuck into her were only splinters, that every bite of food that her body rejected did not mean another night going hungry. It made her pretend that she was not alone every night that she woke up in the hospital, or at her home when everyone was away, her parents at work and brothers at school. She had chances to make friends at therapy, but the truth was she was not very good at it. She never had friends in school before the collapse, and her social skills almost completely stopped developing when she was pulled out. Maybe it wasn't meant to be, and she didn't want to inflict pain on anyone when she finally died. Didn't want to hurt anyone when the ticking time bomb of her life ultimately exploded.

Soon enough, an animated voice comes over the intercom, and the girl is informed that her stop is coming up. She gathers her things and gets ready to step off of the train.

Three hours later, the girl's therapy session ends. With tired eyes, she exits the pristine building, picking up the faint smell of spice filled autumn wind. With a few dangerous and painful coughs, she makes her way back to the train station. This time, the crowds normally associated with the rails are not as large. People are at work and school, afterall. With a lonely frown, she inserts unwired earbuds into her small ear canal and presses play on a playlist on her phone.

After a few short minutes, her train pulls to a stop in front of her. It's brakes scream with resistance, and hearing it over the music, she is reminded of herself when the disease took over. She resisted, much like the train. She was still resisting, but losing morale quickly.

She took a seat in the middle cart, close to a window. Pulling out her book once more, she reads whilst zooming by the city.

When she makes it home she slides the door open and kicks off her shoes, "Anyone home?" No answer. She pads down the hallway toward her room and drops her bag by her bedroom door shortly after closing it behind her. She takes out the book once again and began to read, blocking out the thoughts that drifted into her mind today until she eventually puts them out of her mind for good, getting lost in a new world.

Only a few hours later, a small, sweet voice rings though the house. Her youngest brother, Kyo, calls for her, "Yuri, we're home!"

Yuri abruptly sets down her book, jumping up from her seat by the window. She swiftly walks to meet her youngest brother in the living room. He has already flipped on the television, tuning into his favorite cartoons. His dark eyes are fixated on the dancing characters displayed on the screen and a wide smile spreads across his face as he scoots over a little, making room for her on the carpeted floor. She hugs her mother who walks to the kitchen before laying on her stomach close to her brother, supporting her head with the palms of her hands. Watching cartoons with Kyo is definitely one of her favorite pastimes. Everyday after their mother picks him up from daycare, this process repeats. Because of her lack of any real life friends, her family has become the closest and most important people in her life.

After a few episodes of Kyo's favorite show, Hideki, her other little brother, slams the door behind him. He kicks off his shoes and makes himself known to the household with a shout, "I'm home, and I have tons of homework!"

In a typical response, Yuri picks herself off of the floor and skips over to the boy, messing up is dirty blond hair. A goofy smile play's across his face as he swats her hand away. "Alright, let's work on that homework, yeah?" And they sit at the dinner table working on his math equations.

Eventually, Yuri and Hideki finish with his studies. Together they clean up and set the table for dinner.

As usual, dinner is quiet... Yuri's parents have not been getting along lately, and the small talk that she tries to strike up is ignored. It's difficult to be happy when you are arguing, but they haven't grasped that yet, not like she has.

She wishes that they could see the world like she could, to live like they might not wake up tomorrow, maybe then they wouldn't fight so much. She eventually gives up, sighing down at her plate of food. Because of the illness she is restricted to a special diet. The rest of her family abides to it, not only to comfort her but also for convenience. She knows that it upsets Kyo especially. While his friends eat ice cream, among other sweet things, he can't, at least not at home where she can see. She feels guilty for it, even though Hideki has told her many times that it doesn't upset him. She would truly like to believe her nine year old brother, but she has seen him stare longingly at food stands when they attended festivals.

She frowns, taking another bite before deciding that she is full. "Please excuse me." She pushes her plate away from her, ready to end another day.

She grabs her night clothes and towel before exiting her bedroom and walking down the hallway to the bathroom. Stripping off her formal clothing, she is reminded that tomorrow is Saturday. She smiles at the thought, she has always loved Saturdays. To make it even better, tomorrow is the fifth of November. Every first Saturday of the month she goes to the hospital to get a refill on her medication, report to the doctor and adjust that medication accordingly. That is all she has to do tomorrow. Yuri smiles.

After showering she dresses and finds her way back to her room, collapsing on her bed after downing a sleeping pill and attempts to fall into dreams.


	3. Chapter Two

_Saturday, November fifth 2022. Slightly cold, chance of rain._

Last night she slept a little better, but she spent the last two hours laying there, staring up at the ceiling. When she sees the sunlight start to peek through her thin white curtains she sits up, pulling her dark hair into a messy ponytail on top of her head. Grabbing hold of her book she slips on some fluffy socks that used to be white but are slowly graying as they ware. Saturday is a day that Yuri absolutely adores.

On days like this everyone sleeps in, so silently she opens the door to her bedroom, peeking out into the hallway. No sounds are made. Smiling she pulls the door open completely stepping out and into the open. Immediately her bare legs freeze in the morning breath of the cool fall breeze, drifting in casually from the partially open kitchen window. Last night she only slept in a long orange t-shirt, and she regrets, briefly, her lack of pants. Ignoring the chilled air she walks down the hallway, careful to be quiet as possible when sneaking by Hideki's room. Entering the living room she stops, making sure that no one is there.

No, everyone is still asleep. She makes a right turn into the kitchen, walking to the steel colored refrigerator. Quietly she fills a glass bowl with a few strawberries, and then with book and strawberries in hand, she opens the creaking door that leads to the back yard.

The brunette takes a seat on the wooden porch, her feet draping off of the side. She open the book to the page that she last read and pops a strawberry into her mouth. Yuri has done this every Saturday morning since she was a little girl. Her parents didn't know about it until she was a bit older, and they didn't stop her from doing it, yet she still keeps up her old habits of being sneaky.

This was a routine that she started shortly after her Grandpa passed away. When she was very small they would sit out on his back porch together. He would read her a story, picking up from where they had last left off, enjoying a bowl of strawberries together. She remembered the way the grass felt when it tickled her dangling feet. She remembered the way the wind and sun felt each changing season that they read together. It was him that got her into reading, but it didn't become vital to her until she was diagnosed.

When Yuri was about six, Hideki was born. He was never interested in the atmosphere that books created, so he and grandpa would search the garden for grasshoppers while Yuri sat on the porch with a bowl of fresh strawberries and a book. It wasn't to long after that when Yuri's grandfather passed away. Hideki doesn't remember him very well but Yuri doesn't blame him, he was only three, and in the midst of the family's grieving, she was diagnosed.

She finished about four chapters when she heard the TV get switched on in the living room. Smiling she finished the remaining strawberries and went inside. Kyo sat in his usual place in front of the TV, tiredly holding onto his stuffed monkey that he got for his second birthday four years ago. Yuri placed the empty bowl in the sink before returning her book to her room and joining Kyo on the floor. He gently accepted her presence, leaning into her shoulder and sharing his plush blanket.

The next to wake was their dad about an hour later. He leisurely ambled to the kitchen to make himself a pot of coffee and cut the fruit that they ate for breakfast each morning. Yuri left her place on the carpet to go to the kitchen. Her dad smiled at her and together they put together breakfast.

Yuri didn't do as much to help as she would have liked to. When she was little her dad would let her pour pancake mix into the pan, or even crack a few eggs. But once she was diagnosed most of those things stopped. This is because now she seemed weaker in his eyes, and so he babies her.

Yuri set the table frequently and poured juice on occasion, along with other smaller jobs that even Kyo could do. She didn't like this, but because of her dislike towards conflict, debate, argument, she never complained about it or asked to do more. She just did as instructed.

Hideki and her mom were the last ones to get up. It wasn't much of a surprise to Yuri. Hideki took after their mom, who would sleep until dinner if not disturbed. Giggling at her yawning brother stumbling into his seat at the table, she also sat. Her father placed a plate of food in front of both of them before calling to Kyo to join.

The family silently ate, just like any other meal until Yuri brought up her doctors appointment.

"Oh, that's right! I totally forgot-" Her mother glances down at her watch before continuing, "It starts in forty minutes!"

Her mother quickly eats the rest of the food on her plate before rushing into the bathroom to tame her bed head. Yuri chuckles at her mom, she always was one of the kids, and Yuri's best friend.

Yuri eats until she is full before placing her plate into the sink and taking to her room to get dressed. She pulls a baby blue colored top on, tucking it into a pair of old skinny jeans that have a couple of tears and faded spots. She throws a black jacket over her shirt before swallowing her pills and combing her messy hair. She decides to leave it down,Not really having the time to style it much.

She rushes out of her room to meet her family who all seem to be ready. Although, she can tell that Hideki didn't even try, what with his uncombed hair and clothes from yesterday on.

"Hurry, or we'll be late!"

She ties her shoes as fast as she possibly can before running to catch up with her parents. On their way to the appointment they plan to drop Hideki off at a friends house, and Kyo at her aunt's.

"Look! My friends from school were talking about that during break!" Hideki's eyes light up as he practically climbs over Yuri to get a look at the electronic billboard advertising something that looked like a metal helmet. With his face pressed against the car window he rambled on and on about it.

"It was built by this super smart guy, Akihiko Kayaba! I want to be like him someday! He created this game, Sword Art Online, or SAO, beta testers say that it feels like real life!" His excitement causes Yuri to smile. She has no doubt in her mind that her younger brother will someday create something amazing.

Yuri listened with mild interest as her brother continued to tell her about the game, Kayaba and the metal helmet that she learned was called a NerveGear. Occasionally she would ask a question, watching his eyes sparkle at her interest. She likes seeing her brother like this. Because he is happy, she is happy.

Kyo fell asleep somewhere in the midst of Hideki's rambling, so they were careful not to wake him up as their mom passed him onto their aunt. Hideki eventually calmed down and stared out of the window. When they made it to his friends house Yuri watched him leap out of the car and run to a boy who stood in the yard holding a robot toy.

She waved goodbye to him as her and her parents drove off.

The hospital. A place that kills her a little inside each time she comes. The gardens are well maintained, the sidewalk kept clean, a pleasant place if not for all of the death that surrounded it.

As they moved in strides to the polished glass entrance, they would pass the occasional patient conversing with a visitor, breathing the fresh air for the first time in a long time.

Soon the sights end as they enter through the spotless sliding doors and turn to the left to talk to the pretty receptionist at the front desk. It's deathly silent.

"Dr. Fujimoto will be with you soon, for now please take a seat in our waiting area." Yuri follows her parents there, lagging behind a few steps to take in her surroundings. How could someone want to work here? She could feel the life being sucked out of her, just walking around the main floor.

Her parents already sit in the cushy chairs of the waiting room when Yuri caches up to them. She takes her seat between them, staring out of the window not far ahead.

She hates this place.

"Yuri!" Nurse Mahki ran to the short girl, her curly blonde hair bouncing behind her. Nurse Mahki is like a second mother to Yuri. When she was first hospitalized, Mahki not only took care of her, but also read her stories every night until she was released. Mahki graduated from the Tokyo Self-Defense Senior Nurse Academy. She is supposed to be working in the National Self-Defense Hospital, but somehow ended up here, with Yuri.

"You don't know how much I've missed you, kiddo!" Mahki runs her fingers through Yuri's messy bangs. Yuri swats her hand away just as Hideki did yesterday. Smiling, they stroll to the elevators. Once Yuri's parents have joined them inside Mahki jams the button labeled with the number five.

On the way up, Mahki chats with her parents about the weather and other pointless things, allowing Yuri to enjoy the view of the city through the glass side of the elevator as they move up. This used to scare her, but now that she is older she enjoys it, a lot. She recalls when she was thirteen and would sit in the elevator for hours at a time, pressing the buttons to take her up and down. Smiling at the thought she is tempted to press the button back down to floor one so they have to do it again, but seeing as it would make Mahki irritated, she does not.

Mahki does the usual before Dr. Fujimoto gets there. She takes a sample of Yuri's blood, weighs her, measures her height, asks her a few questions about her health and performs a few tests. Then she leaves.

Yuri sits on the examine table looking down at the dinosaur band-aid that Mahki put over the small bleeding hole created by a needle that drew her blood. It has a heart drawn in blue pen over the blue dino. She smiles. When she was ten she used to demand the dinosaur kind. Each time she claimed that the blue one was the best. Since then it was the only one she ever received, with a heart around that specific dino.

She looks away from it, and turns her head down to her parents that sit across from her on the chairs provided a few feet away. Her mother reads a book, her father stares down at his phone, probably looking at a new recipe to try. With nothing to do she swings her feet, looking out of the small window to her right._ It's different,_ she thinks, _Looking out of this window and seeing the small cars race to their destination, then being in one of those small cars yourself._

"Good morning," Dr. Fujimoto nods at each of them, entering the room in a cheery fashion. He applies some disinfectant gel to his hands before looking over the information that Mahki collected earlier.

"How has the sleeping medication been working?" He asks Yuri as he takes her heart rate.

"Fine, I guess... actually, the real question is _when does it work?_"

He chuckles slightly at her answer. He has always been something like an uncle to her, so their chatting is pretty casual. He has been taking care of her since the day she collapsed and was rushed to the hospital only to be diagnosed.

He turns to her parents, asking them a few questions about her health. It is then that a small knock is heard, and Mahki enters the room, a dejected look on her face. She hands a few papers to Dr. Fujimoto before leaving the room silently. After a while he speaks.

"Um... Mr. and Mrs. Endo, may I have a word with you out in the hallway?"


	4. Chapter Three

She holds her her breath, scooting as close as she can to the door without looking suspicious, just in case someone came in. Silence set upon the room and she listened to the muffled voices intently.

_"-Condition has worsened-"_

Just as she started hearing the conversation Ms. Mahki walks in with two steaming cups of cider. Mahki takes a seat across from her, where her mother had sat before, handing her a cup of the liquid. Yuri knew that bad news was coming, this was the drink they shared each time something bad happened.

"Lay it on me," Yuri said, trying to keep the mood light. Mahki's green eyes met hers. She had been crying, but tried to hide it behind a warm smile.

"Let's go for a walk." Yuri nodded at the statement, jumping down from the examine table. She followed Mahki out into the hallway, trying to ignore the sobs coming from her mother. Instead she focused on the way the cup felt in her hands. It was warm. She stares down at the amber colored drink, smiling as memories are awakened from it's amazing aroma.

Once they were out of earshot of her parents, Mahki began, "We found something in your blood test from last visit, just got the results two hours ago..." Yuri kept quiet, "We will have to change your medication, and hopefully that will-" Mahki stops to sniffle, "That it will give us some more... T-ime. T-they said a year, Yuri.. A year." At this point Yuri's eyes are wide and Mahki's eyes are cloudy with tears. "I j-just, I don't know! Yuri I don't know what to do, we can keep you at the hospital, but that will only add a few more months onto.. onto your-"

"My expiration date..." Her voice was void of emotion, or rather reaction, "C-can I be by myself for awhile?" Mahki nods, trying to calm herself down as she watches the young girl walk down the empty hallway.

The place smelt of disinfectant spray, one thing that she would never forget about it. A year? How had it happened so quickly? She was just here, exactly a month ago and they said nothing... so why? No, she knew that she was getting weaker, that this was why for the past six months her medication has changed. Because she was declining, and quickly. A year... That's twelve months. Only twelve. She finds herself wishing that 2023 would be a leap year just she she could have one extra day, but it doesn't work that way. The time that they gave her was just an estimation based off of the speed in which her body was shutting down. It could be totally off, and that's why she has to cherish every second of it. But 365 days is a small amount compared to a whole lifetime that she would be missing out on. A lifetime of learning, of watching Hideki create, of Kyo learning of his talents, of mom and dad being together, of eating the gross 'tests' her dad makes each time he picks a new recipe, of her mom's book recommendations, of strawberries on the porch, of her grandpa's stories, of the time before sickness, of friends, of growing up, of getting a job, of meeting someone, of falling in love, of growing old. She was going to miss out... who was she kidding, she _was_ missing out, she had been since the disease made her collapse at recess.

Large tears rolled down her cheeks. She had a view of the world, one that made her live everyday as if it were her last, and yet here she was, bawling over a lost future. She knew that she was wasting her time, but she couldn't stop. How could she? She thought that she was finally standing on stable ground, only to have it slip right from under her. It wasn't a lost future, it was a stolen future. This disease -that tested her body every day, that made her weak, made her miserable- had been slowly thieving away not only her happiness, but also her future. One that was filled with so many possibilities, but was now colored grey with the material that her headstone was to be made of. Over and over she thought of what she should have done, each one interrupted with the image of her casket.

She should have begged on her knees to stay at school. She should have reached out to other kids more at therapy. She should have… She should have… A lot of things. She shouldn't have held a grudge against her body, or stayed angry at the world.

Her mind, body and soul changed the day she found out that she was sick. The way she saw things had changed, everything was more beautiful from that point on. Sunlight was brighter, colors- more vibrant than they had ever been, flaws became flawless. And now... she was dying. She had always been dying, but this time was different... she was beyond saving. And it was because of that, she knew that those things wouldn't be around forever… No, it was the other way around, she wouldn't be around forever.

How cruel reality was, but is it better now to pour yourself into a book? Maybe she should have spent more time in her own world, and not in a fantasy one created by an author. She could have done more with her life if she had forced herself out of her comfort zone a bit. She kept thinking that she was living to the fullest, but only when you find that something is slipping away, do you realize how wrong you were.

She saw this day coming, but it didn't catch up to her until now that that day was so much closer than she had anticipated. Putting off everything she wanted out of life, "Oh, I'll do it tomorrow." But what if tomorrow never came? This was a lot to take in. Too much to take in. Too much to bare by herself, and yet she wanted to be by herself. Another 'why?' to add to the list. Now she was running out of time to figure that out, so she denied it. It was still there in the back of her mind, she couldn't deny the facts, but for now she would pretend that the test results were wrong.

A door not far ahead was ajar. She heard voices coming from it, so she trudged over there. Peering through the small crack in the door she noticed a boy, his expressions animated as he read a book. Not far from the table he sat on, a large group of children sat, listening as intently as she had when spying on her parents conversation with Fujimoto.

Slowly, as to keep them all from noticing, she slid into the room, standing in the very back, observing.

The children smiled and giggled, whether that be at the boy's actions or the story itself. She had to admit, his facial expressions made her giggle and smile at times as well.

"And they lived... Happily ever after..." As he read the last line, he lifted his head to stare directly into her eyes.

"And they lived..." He spaced the last line that was meant to be said all together. He knew nothing about her, and yet he made her smile, laugh, and reflect all within a short span of ten minutes. He knew nothing of her and yet she felt as though that last part was meant for her, regardless of the silly story that it had ended. "And they lived..."

_"And they lived..."_


	5. Chapter Four

Right then she downed the rest of the cider. Tears fall down her face in slow streams, and she smiles halfheartedly at the boy before leaving the room. The boy's brown eyes followed the small girl out of the door, and for the first time in a long time, he questioned.

The hallway is just as stuffy as it always is, but instead of feeling it suck the life out of her, she thinks about everything she has experienced here. The tears never stop, but this time she doesn't let a sob escape. She pushes the thought of her future away, instead focusing on finding her way back to the hospital room that she was assigned to.

She turns a corner into the hallway that the room is located in, noticing that her parents no longer stand outside of it with Dr. Fujimoto. She feels so numb, but tries not to show it as she collects herself once more. With one last reassuring breath, she opens the door, stepping inside.

Her mother's eyes are puffy and red, she has been crying too. Yuri hopes that her eyes don't give her away, but she knows that they do. She places the empty glass next to her, smiling at Mahki. Mahki tries to smile back, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

"We have something for you, Yuri." Her voice seems empty, maybe even _broken_. She grabs a box from behind her, "We already talked it over with your parents." She sets the heavy thing next to Yuri.

"Have you ever heard of the NerveGear?" Fujimoto's voice sounds. His isn't broken like Mahki's, but a small hint of sadness echo's in it. She looks up at her parents, her mouth slightly ajar, purely out of shock.

_Hideki..._

She stares out of the window, the other cars racing by and she remembers the thought that she had earlier. Looking up at the tall building furnished with tinted glass and steel, she wonders if someone is looking down on them. It is a different experience when you are in the car. Yuri shifts her attention, instead looking at the cube shaped box sitting in her lap. _I just decided that I wanted to spend more time in reality, so why did I accept the gift?_ She already knew the answer. Her parents. When she looked at them, they were finally holding hands, acting like they had before this last year. Yuri knew that this was something that sparked some hope for them, it was something that helped them through this, so while she didn't want to waste any of her last moments playing a video game, she would do it for them, for her family.

They pulled into the driveway, her dad shutting off the car. Her parents got out, and she followed a few silent moments after, taking the box into her arms and opening the door. The crisp autumn air met her immediately, and she listened to the crunch of colored leaves below her feet. This was something that she would miss. She would miss it a lot.

"So, lets hook this up now to make sure there's nothing wrong with it, then you can get started. Although you won't be able to go into the game, you can at least become familiar with the controls, right, little ripple?"

Her dad has called her by that nickname since she could open her eyes. It meant that with her in their lives, it created a ripple in their normally calm, glass like reality. He saw that her eyes were blue, and since then has been comparing her to anything related to water. Ocean on occasion, Waves, Wake, River, Droplet, and of course Ripple. In fact they made her middle name Tide, therefor Making her name mean 'Lilly Tide,' her parents have always considered themselves clever for it.

She smiled, agreeing to set up the device with her dad. She didn't really want to get into it yet, but he didn't know that. To him she was excited, that's how she made it look while they were still in the hospital. That's how she wanted them to see her, accepting and excited for the rest of her short life.

Slowly, she lugged the heavy box into her bedroom. Her dad was already waiting there for her, looking forward to putting everything together with her. Just as they got everything together and ready to start, the sound of the front door slamming interrupted them.

"Yuri, I'm home!" Kyo's voice was louder than usual, their aunt must have given him sugar.

"I'll set up, go have fun!" Her dad was still bent over the instructions and wires that came with the metallic helmet, waving his hand at her dismissively. She nods, saluting him with a serious look on her face. Running out of the room and turning the corner she almost slides into the wall, socks not really allowing friction.

Grabbing Kyo's tiny hand she drags him outside. The plan to tire him out before mom went crazy, what with him bouncing off of the walls.

Together they gather all of the leaves on the ground, bringing them into one big pile. Kyo climbs up the almost leafless tree to the left of their home. Once he is on the branch closest to the ground he stands up on it and jumps. Leaves exploded everywhere due to the impact. Yuri then hopped into the pile as well, landing next to her giggling six year old brother. His dark hair had leaves dancing in it, and she could only guess that her own hair was worse.

As they had gathered them back up for the fifth time, a car pulled into their driveway. Hideki leaps out of it with burst of excitement, jumping into the fresh leaf pile. The three spend what feels like hours throwing leaves into the air, jumping out of the tree and laughing together. She wishes she would have spent more time doing this with them when she wasn't shutting down, because then there would be more moments like this to remember on her deathbed.

By now it was 5:30. Her mother called the three of them inside, it was starting to get cold. They had gotten tired after so much playing, so they went inside to watch cartoons. Kyo had fallen asleep on the floor, so Hideki woke him up before they walked through the doorway to the kitchen.

"Got it all set up," Yuri's dad stated as he took a seat at the table. Their mom had made dinner tonight because their dad was busy with the NerveGear. Her mother was not a very good cook, in fact she could only make one thing without screwing up. That's why their dad did all of the cooking. Yuri and Hideki used to lie when they were younger and tell their mother that it tasted really good, but when Kyo was born they stopped. They found that it was too hard to lie when Kyo would burst out crying at the age of two because it tasted so bad.

"Got what set up?" Hideki's attention was now on dad.

"Yuri got a NerveGear from the hospital. They thought it would work well for therapy."

Hideki slowly turned his head to Yuri, his mouth agape and eyes wide, "What?!"

"Relax, you can use it every once in awhile if you want. You can even use it first!" She was glad that her brother was into that kind of stuff because she didn't want it. Maybe he could use it and she could get enjoyment by watching him get excited about it.

"Reall-"

"No. Yuri needs to use it first, it was a gift from the hospital and I want her to be there for the first launch tomorrow." Her dad interrupted Hideki.

_Well, there goes my chance of getting rid of it._ She knew that if Hideki were to use it once, that he would never give it up, and that's probably why her dad objected to the idea.

"I'll do the dishes!" Yuri quickly stood up from her seat, walking to the sink and grabbing hold of the sponge. It wasn't long until the sponge was taken away from her by her dad. Yeah, she knew it wouldn't last long. She only wanted to help.

Walking down the hallway and to her bedroom, she grabbed a black t-shirt and headed to the shower. Getting the leaves out of her hair was more of a challenge than she thought it would be, but eventually she was cleaned up. She got out of the shower, drying off and pulling clothes on. She admired the cute, little panda on the front of her pull over before combing through her hair and pulling it into another messy ponytail. She bent over, picking up the damp towel and hanging it on the rack behind her.

It was time. Squatting, she stared at the metal helmet. It stared back.

"Okay..." She was a little nervous, how could she not be?

She stood up, placing the contraption on her head, it was a little heavy, and the wires coming out of the side and connecting to her computer didn't make her anymore comfortable with the experience. She lifted her pointer finger and middle finger, using the two to press the power button. A trailer for the game appeared, and although she was surprised by it at first, she sat and watched. When it was over, a command took its place prompting her to touch various parts of her body in order to calibrate the machine. She thought that it was a little weird but she did as it told her to.

"Link Start." She said after laying down, her voice quiet as she slowly allowed her eyelids to drop. It was so strange, she saw in tunnel vision for a moment, and then colors flashed. When that was done the system did some sort of conformation to make sure that her five senses were in check and connected. Then it asked her to create an account.

"Choose a player name."

A player name?

She came up with one that she thought fit perfectly: Tsunami. It was in relation to the water themed nicknames that her dad called her by, yet it reminded her of the disease living inside of her. One that would cause her to fall apart, and leave behind a desolate life.

Like a Tsunami leaving a city,

She would retreat back into the Ocean,

Back into non existence;

A cloud of destruction, left behind, to remember her by.


	6. Chapter Five

_Sunday, November sixth 2022. Mildly sunny, cool temperatures expected._

Yuri stays in bed until her usual alarm goes off. Reaching into the air, she swipes away the notification. Today is the launch, and she has never been so nervous.

She throws the covers off of her body and removes her respirator, shivering from the cold. Without anywhere to go today she pulls on a pair of long white socks and a comfortable, large, yellow hoodie that reaches her mid thigh. Allowing a sigh to escape her mouth, she brushes out her hair, leaving it to hang as it will. Today her plan is to simply laze. Laze and have fun. Laze like before.

When she opens her door to the hallway, she can hear the quite sound of the television and an angry Kyo, whining, stomping his small feet. When she goes to investigate she finds Hideki, surprisingly up _before_ her, holding the remote high in the air, out of Kyo's reach, trying to soak up everything about the launch. A news reporter talks about the NerveGear as video footage is being taken of the people waiting in line for the device.

Hideki is jumping up and down in excitement, his face lighting up as Akihiko Kayaba comes up on the screen, a pre recorded interview. He talks about his inspiration for creating the game, and the people that he worked with in order to make it happen. He mentions that after the launch today, he has another announcement to make, and that it is really important.

When Kyo finally notices Yuri standing in the hallway, his expression changes. He runs over and hugs her legs, "I wanna watch cartoons, Hideki is being mean!" He blinks his big puppy eyes and pouts his tiny pink lips, hoping to win her sympathy.

She smiles down at him, hides a chuckle, and responds in a calm voice. "He is just excited. Today is the launch for Sword Art Online, and you know how he was looking forward to it," she walks over to Hideki and snatches the remote out of his hand before turning it to cartoons for Kyo. Hideki looks up at her with both confusion and anger painted in his hazel eyes. She takes his hand as Kyo sits down to the cartoons, and drags him to her room, where they can watch the news report from the projector there together.

About an two hours later, their dad walks in with a plate of fruit for the both of them, who sit on the floor in a blanket fort, watching the news reports on the launch.

_The time is 10:28._

Hideki notices the NerveGear sitting on her nightstand, and he jumps out of the fort to examine it. Yuri pauses the report and walks to stand behind him, she hasn't seen him so exhilarated since before she was diagnosed. Smiling, she ruffles his hair and promises to tell him all about the experience at dinner tonight. He chuckles, swatting his sister's hand away from his head. He agrees to the arrangement.

Soon after, Kyo runs in. He finished watching cartoons, and wants to play. Yuri invites Hideki to continue watching the report without her, but he decides that he has had enough of the newscaster's voice, and gets up to go with them. Yuri slips a pair of comfortable shoes and leaves the house with a book in hand, walking her brothers to the playground not far from their house.

The three siblings play together for awhile, before it starts to become difficult for Yuri to breath. She sits on a swing and reads the book that she brought with her, keeping an eye on her brothers as they continue to run around. When her eyes turn back to the book in her hands, Hideki gives her a look of concern. Yuri hated that look, she said it made her feel weak.

Before she was diagnosed, Yuri was in a self defense class. After she collapsed, though, their parents removed her from the class immediately. She felt weak then, and still gets that feeling whenever they give her that look, and whenever she can't help around the house, and whenever her body keeps her from doing as she wants.

Yuri's mom calls her phone, she wants the kids to return home.

_The time is 11:41._

Yuri gathers them up, almost dragging Kyo out of the park, ignoring his complaints and reminding him that they could come back later.

When they return home, Yuri places her book back in her room before joining her family in the kitchen for lunch. Hideki is the first to finish, and Kyo is done not long after his older brother. Both run out of the room and Yuri is left with her parents.

It isn't silent for long, "So, are you excited?" her mom brings up. Yuri smiles and nods, taking a drink of her water. Her dad starts talking about everything that he has heard about the game and Yuri nods curtly. She already knew all of this.

When she finishes eating, she gathers up all of the plates for her mom.

_The time is 12:47._

"You better get going, Ripple, the launch is soon!" Dad reminds her and she smiles,thanking him. When she is out of sight of her parents, she drags her feet down the hallway. Opening the door slowly and closing it behind her, she leans against it, staring at the NerveGear. It stares back. She takes a deep breath, walks over and places it on her head.

She finds a comfortable position on her bed and allows her eyelids to drop.

_The time is 12:59._

"Link Start," The words slipped out of her mouth, with less enthusiasm than was expected.


	7. Chapter Six

Yuri sees everything as if looking through a glass. It's a strange experience, feeling some kind of breeze flow all around her small body as colorful pixels connected in strands of zeros and ones fly by. It's not real, she knows that for sure, but the way it feels… ineffable.

The system quickly connected the touch sense, then sight. Just as sudden, it connects her ability to hear, and then taste. Finally it was smell, and the first thing to enter her nose is the faint aroma of oranges. The NerveGear then asks her to select her desired language and enter the login that she had created the night before.

And she was in.

_Welcome to Sword Art Online! _The intro to the innovative technology's game began. Yuri could feel a gradual warmth wash over her, along with a light breeze. She could taste and smell the cool, fresh air. She felt free.

_Create Character _the system prompted. Feeling a slight smile spread across her face, Yuri began create an ideal version of herself. This version was called Tsunami, and she looked healthier. Tsunami had navy colored hair that met her slender shoulders in waves. Her skin held more color, less pallid than the shade that coated Yuri's sickly skin. Tsunami was taller than Yuri by almost a head. She was stronger, too. The only similarity Tsunami held with Yuri were her eyes, the same deep, icy color that she had been born with.

When Tsunami was complete, Yuri felt complete. This is what she had always wished to be. Strong with sharp, yet kind eyes… beautiful. She had always wanted to feel beautiful. And now, merged with the new version of herself, she did.

Tsunami began the game, seeing splashes of racing blue, and finally brightly colored pixels.

She smelt bread, grass, spices… oranges. All around her were iron pillars, reaching toward the sky with valor and purpose. People flashed into view with ultramarine flames, unique in appearance and voice.

Tsunami reached out her hands, inspecting them with great interest. They seemed so real. They felt so real. A sudden wind blew through the area, circling around her. It ruffled her hair and clothing.

It was all so real.

She took a step. Then another, and soon she was running. She had so much stamina, taking off through an iron tunnel. It shined sheer in the outside light, and swallowed the cobblestone path that her feet tread upon and echoed off of. On the other end of this dark underpass was a town glowing with people. So many people, more than she had ever before cared to interact with. The smells were stronger, the colors so vivid. All around her was so much noise, conversations filling the open, sunkissed air. The smells were stronger. Tsunami gulped in lung fulls of the sweet scents.

It was all so real, and she felt so free.

But what was she to do now? Never before had she played any video game, nor did she have any friends to guide her. She was alone here, at least until Hideki found a way to buy a NerveGear, which may not even happen until after she died. She hoped that he would use the one that belonged to her when that inevitably happened.

Sighing, she shook off the morose atmosphere that grew around her like a choking weed around a sunflower. She had more pressing matter to deal with. Never before had she communicated with anyone who did not belong to her family or felt like family.

As a child Yuri was very sociable, she made new friends with only the adorable blink of her azure eyes. When the disease took over, time seemed to stop, and those friends slowly drifted away. Since then she had been alone. Now, as Tsunami, she was surrounded by thousands of people, and potential acquaintances or friends. But she was scared.

Tsunami took in a shaky breath. In a strange separate thought from her usual self, she strolls forward. Ahead, she spots an NPC selling bread. Bread. The smell of it was sweet, and she inhaled deeply. It had been so long since she had it!

"One please," she spoke with desire. Her own voice shocked her a bit. It was slightly deeper, more confident. Tsunami smiled shortly, dazzling the set of codes made up to be a person in front of her. The young man, sprinkled in flour, nodded his head. He passed her a bun about the size of her hand. As she took hold of it, a notification appeared. A transaction of twenty eight Cor. She accepted, automatically removing three small coins out of a pouch that appeared at her hip. Twenty eight Cor out of two hundred that she was granted at first spawn.

Happily, she wandered to an empty bench that sat not far from the bakery stand. As she took a seat, she tore into the roll and pressed it into her nose.

It smelt impossibly real! Tsunami took a bite, and an explosion of flavor saturated her mouth. She giggled, joy filling her up to the top. She continued to eat the bread greedily, not even noticing that someone had taken a seat next to her.

"It's even better with this on it," a deep voice chuckled. Surprised, Tsunami jumped. She looked over to the boy beaming next to her, holding a small cream colored jar toward her. With wide eyes, she observed him. His hair was colored blonde, glistening in the golden sunlight. It contrasted with his grinning verdant eyes and the small brown mole that sat beneath the one on the left side of his face. He had broad shoulders and was taller than her by half a head even while sitting. She glanced at the glowing green visor next to his name.

_FazedFox_

He held it out a little further, snickering at her frightened face. Tsunami took it with her left hand, staring down at both the bread and jar of what smelt like honey. "It's kind of like honey," he reads her mind. Honey. She hasn't had that for a long time either.

"How do I use it?" Her voice is quiet and slightly embarrassed.

Amused, he takes her hand in his. Guiding her fingers over to the jar he gently presses them against it. In her vision, a circular, peach colored shape wraps around her fingers. He guides her hand once more, moving her fingers over to the bread, "Now just spread it," He smiles. She does as he tells her, and appearing on the roll is a sunset orange paste. "Try it!"

Tsunami takes a bite with a sigh. It tastes so sweet. Like a cross between honey and orange marmalade.

"You can call me Fox, what should I call you?"


	8. Chapter Seven

His words echoed around her mind. What should he call her? He asked her to address him by a shortened version of his username… Was she expected to do the same?

"Call me Tsu," Her voice was quiet when it dripped out of her small mouth. Yet, it did not tremble as it would have normally. No, as Tsunami, Yuri wasn't afraid. She was confident, strong, amiable. She reached for the boy's hand, shaking it with enthusiasm and a grin that matched the one quickly spreading across his face, much like the honey marmalade.

Fox let her continue to eat as he sent a party request, hoping that she knew what it was. Of course, with little experience with games in general, Tsunami felt only a strange mixture of confusion and surprise when the notification appeared so suddenly in her vision. She glanced up at him through her eyelashes, meeting his lime colored eyes with a lost expression painted onto her face.

He chuckled, filling her with butterflies and a weird sense of recognition. Running a calloused hand through his messy, flaxen hair he spoke gently, "Accept it, I'll teach you."

In a bit of a daze, she did as was requested of her. Tsunami was in need of a teacher anyway, she couldn't just wait for Hideki to learn and then show her the ropes. With the sound of a saccharine twinkling bell, it was official. Fox was to be her instructor.

She smiled to herself as she finished her food. Maybe in the future, the two of them could be friends.

"How do you know about all of this?" The pair were out in a field. Wildflowers rose out of the ground like resurrected spirits, responding to the call of the sun's demand. A light breeze softly combed through the tall grasses, carrying a faint yet particularly bitter scent on it's back. Fox turned at the question with a bit of reluctance. From his weakened silver blade, crystals of shattered blue glass floated into the sky, in replace of the crimson blood of a boar.

"That'll be a story for another day, maybe." His response was short, but it came with the apologetic furrow of his thick eyebrows. Tsunami nodded shortly. There were things that she didn't want him to know, too. If he could always know her as this version of herself, then she would be happy. No one in this world should know or even care to know about her real life.

Fox sent her a grin before taking off and attacking another boar. The blade of his sword began to glow a green color, and it spread with a humming noise until the blaze met the hilt. Tsunami gazed in amazement as he landed a critical hit on a beast that glared at Fox from a safe distance. "What is that?" Her voice echoed the awe that she felt.

"It's a sword skill… Would you like to learn?"

Tsunami nodded eagerly, interested in the green flares and graceful movement that came with them. "Breathe, this requires focus," his voice was soft and coated in concentration as he demonstrated. "You will start to feel warmth at the hilt of your weapon. Watch your target closely…" he took a fighting stance, spreading his feet apart for better balance, "Then, let it rip!" The glow appeared again, along with an angry zipping sound. Fox rushed forward, killing yet another creature.

She was confused, not really sure how to make sense of his explanation. It was short, simple for something that seemed so complicated. She thought hard about it, eventually deciding to just give it a try. Maybe it could be something she could tell her family about over dinner. They wanted her to have new experiences. This was her chance to try something new, and she was not ready to pass it up so suddenly.

As Fox collected his small reward, Tsunami hesitantly took stance. She felt a surge of power rush through her body and felt heat grow at the base of her weak sword. It was as he said. With a deep breath, she focused on the closest beast to her. Then it happened.

Her sword burned a deep blue and she rushed at the animal, tearing through it with ease. The boar evaporated into the air and she jumped giddily. Smiling over her shoulder at the slightly shocked and very excited boy, she collected the reward.

Fox was happy to see that the girl was catching on quickly. It had taken him hours to figure out even the simplest of sword skills. Yet this person, whose name was the only thing he knew about her, picked it up effortlessly. Her talent astonished him.

It had felt so wonderful. She had never felt so in control, and she wanted to feel the sensation over and over again. This was certainly something that she would never forget, even as she died, the memory might play on repeat.

Filled with joy, she stood from her place on the ground. Noticing the time flashing dully in the corner of her visor, she realized that it was time to take her medication. With a pout gracing her pink tinted lips, she sighed in disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Fox's comforting voice rushed into her ears like a mountain spring trickling through smoothened rocks.

"I have to go, got things to do in real life."

"Oh." Fox thought for a moment. He liked this person, and wanted to play with them again in the future. "Would you like to be friends? We could play some more whenever you are available!"

"Sure, that would be lovely!" Tsunami beamed as she swiped at her menu. She accepted Fox's friend request and then went back to finding the log out button. Fox had taught her about the game's system earlier, so she knew where the option to end the game was. However, it was nowhere in sight.

"Fox," she called out. His name being said in such a gentle tone made happiness burst from his chest. But what she asked next surprised him, "Where is the log out option? I seem to have forgotten." He chuckled.

"Already? I just showed you, it's right… here?" Fox opened his own menu. The button wasn't there.


End file.
